“Stop!”
To prevent similar incidents from happening, Zhu Qiu immediately reached out to block the space in front of her.
“Don’t hug me! I’m not a child! I just came to buy food!”
After a period of cautious back-and-forth, Zhu Qiu successfully purchased the food.
The restaurant sold dishes she had never seen before, but they smelled good, so there shouldn’t be any issues.
She bought three portions in total: one for Zhu Xiaxia, one for herself, and one for her father on the surface.
After returning to the Dragon Race Imperial Palace and eating her fill, she brought one portion down.
“Father! I’m back!”
Zhu Qiu pushed the door open while carrying the bag of takeout containers and placed the food on the table.
“Time to eat.”
She called out again, but Soderland was nowhere to be seen inside the house.
‘Where did Dad go?’
Zhu Qiu simply sat down on a chair in the living room and waited quietly.
Within ten minutes, Soderland appeared at the door, huffing and puffing while carrying a hoe.
*Huff… huff…*
“Father, what’s wrong?”
Seeing her father’s exhausted state, Zhu Qiu hurried forward to ask.
“It’s nothing. I just had too much time on my hands at home. I noticed a patch of fertile land around the house, so I decided to clear it. Once we get some seeds, we can eat our own homegrown vegetables.”
Soderland spoke intermittently, but it was clear from his spirit that he quite enjoyed the work.
“Father, why don’t you forget about it? At your age, you won’t be able to handle such strenuous labor anymore.”
Soderland rolled up his sleeves and flexed his biceps.
“How could that be? Your father is sturdy. I’m not as weak as you say.”
In his younger days, his muscles would have been massive, but after being a father for so many years, he had been worn down by time.
Now, they were merely average, lacking the vigor of his youth.
Since her father insisted, Zhu Qiu didn’t feel right saying anything more.
“Uh… Father, I brought you some food. Eat quickly. I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be going now.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Qiu stood up from her chair.
“Wait a moment. I need to explain something to you regarding what happened this morning.”
“Eh?”
“Go ahead, Father.”
Zhu Qiu obediently sat back down.
“Fine, I’ll begin.”
Soderland pulled a stool over and sat opposite Zhu Qiu, staring directly into her eyes as if he were facing a criminal about to be judged.
*Ahem!*
He cleared his throat and began.
“A young girl dressed in magnificent clothes came to our home this morning and delivered breakfast. Do you know about this?”
“Of course I do.”
Zhu Qiu spoke frankly, not sensing any hidden meaning in her father’s words.
“You knew!?”
Soderland was shocked for a moment before asking, “What was her purpose in coming to our house?”
“What purpose could there be? She was just bringing you breakfast.”
“Bringing breakfast? Rubbish! She was clearly trying to assassinate me!”
“Huh?”
Zhu Qiu was confused.
“Furthermore, she claimed you were the one who sent her. That’s obviously a lie meant to gain my trust. I’m starting to suspect the Human Race is targeting us again. Tell me, do we have to move again?”
“???”
Zhu Qiu had absolutely no idea what her father was talking about.
“Father, is it possible you’ve misunderstood? She genuinely came to deliver food.”
“Impossible!”
Soderland shook his head.
“My judgment is never wrong. No one could make Tomato Egg Noodles taste that bad unless they were laced with poison. Fortunately, I only tasted a little bit before spitting it out, otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable!”
Good grief.
“Uh…”
Far away in the Dragon Race Imperial Palace, Zhu Xiaxia sneezed.
‘Who is cursing me?’
“Actually, Father, those noodles weren’t poisoned. They’re just that disgusting.”
In the Dragon Race Imperial Palace, Zhu Xiaxia sneezed again.
“?”
Now it was Soderland’s turn to be bewildered.
Having cooked for so many years, he had truly never heard of noodles being that inedible.
“Let’s stop talking about that and move on to another question. Since you said you know that girl, tell me: what is her identity, where does she come from, and why do you know her?”
“Huh?”
Zhu Qiu hadn’t expected her father to be so suspicious that he would want to know everything about Zhu Xiaxia.
But what should she say now?
Should she say that Zhu Xiaxia was from the Dragon Race, that she was the Dragon King, and that they met by accident?
No, that wouldn’t work.
Zhu Qiu shook her head.
If her father knew she was part of the Dragon Race, he would definitely demand that she kill her.
After all, the traditional concept of the Sword Saint Dragon Slaying was deeply engraved into the minds of her father’s generation.
Thus, she made up an excuse, hoping to muddle through.
“Don’t shake your head. Look me in the eye and answer me!”
“She’s… I picked her up in the wild,” Zhu Qiu said offhandedly.
“My son, are you still refusing to tell the truth even now!”
Soderland was both anxious and angry as he slammed his fist onto the table.
“Have you ever seen a stray who wears such beautiful clothes? Those clothes are clearly expensive; anyone with eyes can see she’s the young lady of some noble family!”
“Look at me again and explain yourself clearly!”
“I… I…”
Zhu Qiu lowered her head, unable to squeeze out a complete sentence for a long time.
She felt extremely wronged. If she were back at the Dragon Race Imperial Palace, she would have started crying already.
‘Why do you have to make things so hard for me…’
Seeing that Zhu Qiu wasn’t speaking, Soderland realized his behavior had been a bit excessive. He quickly looked away from her.
“Sigh, I’m sorry, son. Your father is getting old. I won’t interfere in the affairs of you young people anymore. However, I truly hope you two can live together happily.”
Zhu Qiu looked up, her face filled with incomprehension.
“Don’t argue so often, and try to give in to her more. If her cooking is bad, you can bring her home; I can teach her.” Soderland stood up and looked toward the main door. “In short, I wish you both happiness.”
…
“Wait.”
‘Does Dad think Zhu Xiaxia is my girlfriend?’
“Father, it’s not what you think!”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you. I understand. As someone who has been through it, how could I not see these things?”
It was over.
The more she explained, the worse the misunderstanding became.
She decided not to explain anymore.
Let the misunderstanding remain; that relationship didn’t exist anyway.
It was about time for her to leave.
“Father, go ahead and eat. I’ve already eaten, so I’ll be going now.”
Zhu Qiu stood up to leave.
“Wait, where are you going…”
Soderland paused and then decided to let it go.
“Forget it, never mind. Just remember to bring some seeds back for me.”
“Okay.”
***
Zhu Qiu had already returned to the Dragon Race Imperial Palace.
Zhu Xiaxia was currently in her room, researching how to cook.
“Zhu Xiaxia, when is Xiaguang coming back?”
Zhu Qiu asked as she pushed the door open.
“Her? I’m not sure either. It should be soon.”
“Alright then.”
Zhu Qiu felt a bit disappointed.
She really missed the food Xiaguang made; it was such a delicious delicacy.
Just then, Zhu Xiaxia suddenly had a reaction…